BLOWS UP Synonyms: 116 Similar and Opposite Words

blows up

verb

present tense third-person singular of blow up

as in has a fit

to become very angry she blew up at everybody after a very long and very bad day

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as in explodes

to break open or into pieces usually because of internal pressure the building blew up because of a gas leak

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as in shatters

to cause to break open or into pieces by or as if by an explosive blew up the biggest rocks and then cleared them away

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as in cracks up

to praise or publicize lavishly and often excessively the advertisement blows the new soda up to the point where I half expected to be transported to a higher level of consciousness

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of blows up The person who blows up at a subordinate under stress has usually been subtly condescending in one-on-ones for months. — Mary Crossan, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026 Frequent zoom-ins shown on screens showed sweat dripping down his face, and his hair resembled something similar to a mad scientist after an experiment blows up in their face. — Joseph Hernandez august 13, Kansas City Star, 13 Aug. 2026 Friday’s announcement blows up Paramount’s original plan to take control of Warner by the end of September. — Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 24 July 2026 Sharma’s unenviable job is to trim the fat before this whole thing blows up. — Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 6 July 2026 Walter recommends that budding creators parse through their analytics when a video blows up—and warns not to pop the champagne too fast. — Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 11 May 2026 As one pipe blows up under their feet, two mercs go motionless and begin to drift away into the void. — Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 27 Apr. 2026 Think about movements that happen when a person blows up a balloon. — Matt Parrott, Arkansas Online, 26 Apr. 2026 Hunter consistently blows up running plays, ripping right through the interior of college offensive lines. — Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 19 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for blows up

Verb

Day to day, as the city grows, there’s also the question of traffic, which snarls the city as public transit initiatives have repeatedly struggled.

— Jacqui Palumbo, CNN Money, 21 July 2026
Security snarls The TSA PreCheck line at terminal B in LaGuardia Airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City, on March 27, 2026.

— Leslie Josephs, CNBC, 28 Mar. 2026

Definition of snarls

Verb

The accusation rumbles, then explodes locally, drawing in authorities and prompting an investigation.

— Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026
Most is in the form of subatomic particles called neutrinos, which carry little energy individually but are generated in vast numbers when a star explodes.

— Phil Plait, Scientific American, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of explodes

Verb

But when a killer shatters the peace, Annie is faced with the task of confronting everyone’s collective trauma, while being thrown headfirst into a nightmare.

— Alaina Urquhart, PEOPLE, 11 Aug. 2026
Continue reading … RAISING THE BAR — ICE shatters all-time mark with a jaw-dropping 51,000 arrests in July.

— , FOXNews.com, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of shatters

Verb

The receptionist angers Kripke and Bert so much that they are picked up by the police — along with Stuart, who had also been arrested.

— Michael Schneider, Variety, 31 July 2026
According to the myth, Agamemnon angers the goddess Artemis by killing one of her sacred deer.

— Britt Hayes, Entertainment Weekly, 20 July 2026

Definition of angers

Verb

If the ammunition detonates after penetration, the explosion is directed away from the crew compartment, significantly improving the crew’s chances of survival.

— Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 30 June 2026
After the pass comes to Bridges, who detonates passersby at the basket regularly, White goes straight up, though with a little more oomph than usual.

— Fred Katz, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2026

Definition of detonates

Verb

That is less than half as many as the set that produced many of his signature smashes and turned him into a chart-topper.

— Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026
For now, Paramount isn’t producing the billion-dollar box office smashes that drive millions of butts into theater seats (not to mention robust sales of novelty popcorn buckets).

— Todd Spangler, Variety, 9 Aug. 2026

Definition of smashes

Verb

Every few weeks, another headline announces that artificial intelligence has matched a doctor, beaten a doctor, or is finally ready to become one.

— Arya Rao, STAT, 19 Aug. 2026
If that was not confusing enough, the calendar remains shrouded in uncertainty until only a few weeks before the first match of each campaign, when the PCB belatedly announces the fixtures.

— Ahsan Iftikhar Nagi, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026